Local & State Dispatches

School bringing back dance with hopes of no 'grinding' / Local felon gets 21 months in prison for gun possession / Faulty wiring is blamed for fire that razed home ... and more news from around the state.

PThe woman whose body was discovered Thursday afternoon in a vehicle in the Motel 6 parking lot has been identified as Margarita Fisenko Scott, 29, of Westbrook, and police are investigating her death as a homicide.

City spokeswoman Nicole Clegg said Friday night that Scott’s death was ruled a homicide after an autopsy was conducted by the state medical examiner.

Police are releasing few details about the case, including the cause of Scott’s death.

Police are asking that anyone who had any recent contact with Scott or information on the case to call them at 874-8604.

Local felon gets 21 months in prison for gun possession

A city man was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Portland to 21 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Jason Lee Morrill, 32, pleaded guilty to the charge on Sept. 18 and was sentenced before U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a news release Friday.

Morrill, a convicted felon since 2003, purchased a Taurus 9mm pistol and two magazines on May 2 in a private sale from a stranger he met through Uncle Henry’s online classified advertising. Moments later, while still in the parking lot where the sale occurred, Morrill sold the firearm for $100 to an acquaintance with connections to New York, according to court records.

Authorities in New York City reported a little more than a month later that the pistol that Morrill purchased and then sold in Maine was recovered in the Bronx borough of New York City near the scene of a shooting involving officers of the New York City Police Department. At the time, no suspect had been identified as possessing the handgun, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in the news release.

FRANKLIN

Man, 23, killed when SUV flips, crashes into woods

Maine State Police say a 23-year-old man was killed when a sports utility vehicle missed a curve and crashed into woods in the eastern Maine town of Franklin.

Brennon Potter of Franklin and Deer Isle died at the scene of the crash, which was discovered Friday around 9:30 a.m. Friday by a nearby resident.

Police said Potter’s 1969 Ford Bronco crossed the center line at a curve, struck a guardrail, overturned and came to rest against a tree in the woods. Potter was not wearing a seat belt.

FARMINGTON, N.H.

Second Maine man arrested in connection with shooting

Police have arrested a second Maine man in connection with a shooting in Farmington, N.H.

Two men were shot at a home a week ago. One suffered a gunshot wound to the head, the other to the chest, but the injuries were not life-threatening.

Police said the two injured men have been arrested.

WMUR-TV reported that 21-year-old Matthew Roaf of Lebanon, Maine, turned himself in Wednesday after he was released from the hospital. He’s been charged with robbery and conspiracy to commit.

Twenty-four-year-old Stephen Roy of Somersworth was arrested Tuesday night on the same charges.

The third man, 27-year-old Joshua Dionne of North Berwick, Maine, has been detained in Maine on a parole violation. He is expected to face robbery charges after he is extradited to New Hampshire.

MADISON

Faulty wiring is blamed for fire that razed home

A Madison Avenue family lost their home and belongings early Friday in a fire fought in sub-zero temperatures by six area fire departments.

No one was injured in the blaze that ripped through the second story of Bill and Betty Perry’s home about 3:15 a.m., collapsing part of the upstairs into the lower level.

“It was fire coming down from upstairs; coming from the ceiling down — big black and orange smoke,” said the Perrys’ son, Michael Williams, who lives next door. “I tried to put it out with water that was on the stove, but I couldn’t do it. I’ve got a few burns here and there. It was wicked cold, about 10 degrees below zero, I think.”

The homeowners were not insured. Three dogs were saved and a small cat still was missing by late morning.

WATERVILLE

Body of man found frozen identified as that of fugitive

The body of a man found last week near Kennedy Memorial Drive has been identified as a fugitive who had been on the run for almost nine years.

Police said his death is not considered suspicious and he has no connection to the immediate area.

Richard Lawson, 58, was wanted by the U.S. Marshal Service for failure to appear on the second day of a 2004 federal trial in West Virginia, where he faced charges of manufacturing methamphetamine, use of a firearm in a drug crime and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Lawson was tried in absentia and found guilty, said police Chief Joseph Massey.

An autopsy performed this week by the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta determined that Lawson died of a heart attack due to coronary disease, Massey said.

Lawson was born in Pennsylvania, but has family in Corinth and Garland in Penobscot County.

BRUNSWICK

School bringing back dance with hopes of no ‘grinding’

A Maine high school has scheduled a Valentine’s dance for the first time since 2009, when the event was canceled because too many students were engaging in a sexually suggestive dance known as “grinding.”

Brunswick High School students plan to hold the dance Feb. 15.

Principal Art Abelmann told The Times Record the dance is a chance for students to show they can dress and behave appropriately.

Brunswick school officials will tell students through assemblies and class discussions what’s expected of them. Students will be asked to sign agreements pledging respectful and legal behavior.

Here at MaineToday Media we value our readers and are committed to growing our community by encouraging you to add to the discussion.

To ensure conscientious dialogue we have implemented a strict no-bullying policy. To participate, you must follow our Terms of Use. Click here to flag and report a comment that violates our terms of use.